


Not Our Heritage

by Iamacarrot



Series: In Which Our Hero Needs Saving [5]
Category: Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Cartoon 2018)
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Brotherly Love, Bullying, Protective Older Brothers, Self Confidence Issues, Self-Harm, Stereotypes, offensive language
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-20
Updated: 2019-01-20
Packaged: 2019-10-13 00:08:11
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,586
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17477561
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Iamacarrot/pseuds/Iamacarrot
Summary: Just because they spoke the language, doesn't mean that was who they were.





	Not Our Heritage

**Author's Note:**

> Warning: Use of the words: Jap, and Dive-Bombing Rat
> 
> Compass Rose:
> 
> \---= Flashback

"Leo...?"

Leonardo made no move to look back at his baby brother. It had been a quiet day, considering how Michelangelo had actually been out for a significant amount of time. Something about wanting to have some free time to himself, and; wanting to make friends that wouldn't get scared off by the others.

Whatever that meant.

"What's up? I'm kind of in the middle of a movie." Leon muttered.

"...I'm _so sorry_..." Mikey whispered. "I didn't mean to do it again..."

That comment made Leon look back, and the Slider nearly  _died_ as he saw the long, deep gash on his baby brother's neck. Mikey was sobbing, and he was becoming dizzy as his neck continued to bleed. Mikey had a large shard of glass in his hand, and he dropped it as soon as he was picked up by Leo, who had begun to sob as well.

"Oh mi gosh... I thought this stopped... why did you do it?" Leo asked softly.

"I jus' wanted a..." Mikey replied, coughing as he started to lose more blood.

"Alright, you can tell me after we go see Don-Don, okay?" Leo whispered.

Mikey nodded, holding on to Leo as tight as possible, beginning to pant as he started to need more oxygen. It had been around three months since Mikey had last cut himself, due to his temporary state of depression, and the family had all rightfully believed that Mikey would easily stay off of the mental track. Now, however, Mikey had relapsed, and his three whole months of clean arms and legs had been completely desecrated.

"Donnie, I need you,  _NOW!"_   Leo shouted, rushing into Donnie's lab.

"Leon, can it wait? I'm in the middle of an important project." Donatello groaned.

"Donatello, your titanium sculpture of your head can wait..." Leo hissed.

Donnie blushed, but didn't turn around. Why should he? It's not like Leo could have had anything  _that_ import-

"Mikey relapsed." Leon stated suddenly.

Donatello swiftly turned around in his swivel chair, standing to his feet and tearing Mikey out of Leo's arms. Mikey was set on a premade cot, and coughed before groaning.

"Michael, I'm going to help you, but, before I do, I have to know what I'm working with, okay buddy?" Donnie assured. Mikey nodded halfheartedly. "Alright, how many fingers am I holding up, sweetie?"

"Two...?" Mikey replied softly, trying to smile as he got a rewarding head pat.

"Okay, I'm gonna have to stitch this up. I need you to be the biggest boy you can be." Donnie explained, rubbing Mikey's head.

"Is it gonna hurt?" Mikey half gurgled, blood dripping out of the sides of his mouth.

"I won't say that it's not going to." Donnie sighed. "Come on, sit still."

Mikey whimpered, eyes clenching shut in response to feeling a needle being pressed into his throat. It was similar to the way the glass shard had felt, but the knowledge that this was something meant to  _fix_ what Mikey had done, made this needle feel ten times worse. Not to mention the fact that there was the presence of a consistent tug at the wound.

"Is he going to be alright?" Leon inquired, hovering over Donnie's shoulder.

"I'm not sure, but don't panic. He didn't hit the exact vein that would have-"

"Don..." Leo muttered nervously.

"Right. Sorry." Donnie replied.

Leon wrapped his arms around his brother in worry, tears rolling down his cheeks and falling onto Donnie's shoulder. Donatello did nothing negative in response. The Softshell knew how much this was affecting Leo, and felt no need to make Leo feel worse.

"He never told me why... and it scares me so much; not knowing  _why_ he does it..." Leo whispered, nuzzling into Donnie's neck.

"It scares me, too. Just as much as it scares Raph." Donnie sighed, finishing up the last part of Mikey's stitch, and leaning back, accepting the saddened hug from Leo. "Have you told him, yet?"

"Mikey was bleeding out by the time I came to you. 'm pretty sure that things would be worse if I had left to tell him." Leo huffed.

"Fair point. You wanna go tell him now?" Donnie asked.

"No." Leo scoffed.

"He's gotta know." Donnie chided.

"Whatever." Leo whined, letting go of his older brother and sadly walking out of the lab.

Mikey groaned after a few minutes, and came to. When he opened his eyes, Mikey was met with the sight of his sobbing brothers.

"I relapsed... didn't I...?" Mikey sighed, frowning at his brothers' nods. "I'm sorry..."

"Michael,  _please_ don't apologize. We know you well enough, to be perfectly aware that something drove you to this." Donnie chided. "So, what was it?"

"I... don't wanna say..." Mikey whispered.

"Mikey, we can't help you if you don't tell us what's wrong." Raph huffed.

"I know..." Mikey whispered.

"Then please tell us, Miguel." Leo pleaded, pressing his snout against Mikey's cheek.

Michelangelo looked to the ceiling, sniffling before reaching to his neck and huffing.

"Fine." he sighed.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Time had been going on so slowly for Michelangelo earlier that day, and he'd wanted desperately to do something exciting. The young turtle had asked each of his brothers, but all he'd gotten in response was a head pat from Donnie, a hug from Raph, and a sweet peck from Leo. The gestures were cute and greatly appreciated, but not exactly what Mikey was looking for.

Don't get him wrong, Mikey absolutely  _loved_ when his brothers were being affectionate- especially Donnie -but there  _were_ moments when Mikey didn't want as many hugs as normal. Especially since his... recent secret... having been revealed.

With the thought of that, Mikey shivered, looking at his arms, which were covered in slightly healed, stitched up scars. Mikey sighed in response to the sight, and rubbed his right arm sadly. The others had assured Mikey that they weren't mad at him, but he still felt guilty about the scenario.

Around three months ago, Mikey had been caught cutting himself in the kitchen, and his brothers freaked out more than he'd ever seen them freak out before. Leo was squeezing Mikey close, Donnie was working with Mikey's wounds, and Raph was repeatedly asking if Mikey was okay. After Mikey's arm was taken care of, he found himself being cuddled between his brothers in the living room. Mikey had been placed in Donnie's lap, and was leant against Donnie's plastron. Leo was leaning against Donnie as well, and had an arm draped around Mikey's body. Raph had sat close, but hadn't gotten too close to Donnie. There was no explanation as to why Raph wasn't getting close, but no one questioned it.

Mikey looked to the floor for a second, having ended his painful flashback,  before walking on, announcing that he was going to the Run-of-the-Mill pizza place. The others said their goodbyes, and went about their days.

When Mikey arrived at the pizza place, he was met with the sight of two teenaged Yokai, who looked exactly like each other. The two looked like anthropomorphic foxes, and they were chuckling as they joked around. Mikey smiled, walking over to a table, and thinking of his brothers. Maybe he should have invited them along.

"Hey, what's up?"

Mikey looked up with surprise, humming as he was approached by the two aforementioned males.

"Hello!" Mikey chimed, showing no signs of discomfort as the Yokai sat with him. "I'm Mikey."

"Hey Mikey. I'm Jack, and that's Damian."

"Nice to meet you both. Quick question, though; why did you choose to sit with me, a complete stranger?" Mikey inquired.

"Eh, you looked nice enough. Plus, it seemed weird, having a kid like yourself coming in without supervision." Jack teased.

"Hahah, cute. I will have you know, good sirs, that I am thirteen and a half!" Mikey announced, crossing his arms playfully.

"Wow. Such a man." Damian chuckled.

Michelangelo giggled, finding no troubles in starting silly little conversations with the twin Yokai in front of him. As they talked, Mikey learned that these Yokai were on a vacation with their parents, who lived farther in the hidden city, past New York. Which was super cool.

"Wow. I didn't even know that the hidden city stretched that far!" Mikey gasped. "How far do you think it-"

_Ring!_

"Whoops! Can I take this?" Mikey chuckled, blushing.

"Take all the time you need." Jack dismissed, challenging his brother to an arm wrestling match.

Mikey turned the other way, sighing as he answered the call.

"What do you want?" Mikey huffed.

"Yes, because that's most  _certainly_ how I've taught you to answer the phone." Donatello droned, making Mikey jump.

"Donnie! I'm so sorry! I didn't know!" Mikey apologized.

"Whether you did, or not, that doesn't excuse you from what you did." Donnie huffed. "Anyways, beyond that; it's past your curfew. You need to come home."

"But, I just made new friends! I'll sound so  _lame_ if I tell them I have a curfew!" Mikey whispered.

"I don't care, Michael. You know the rules. Now get home." Donnie chided.

"But I-"

 _"NOW."_   Donnie growled.

"Fine..." Mikey huffed.

"Hey, is that Mikey? Hey Mike!" April chimed.

Mikey smiled. It was nice to hear April's calm voice, in comparison to Donnie's angry one.

"Tell him I love him!" Leo shouted.

Mikey rolled his eyes, smiling. Leo had been saying that a  _lot_ , lately.

"Watashi mo anata o aishitemasu. Sayōnara." Mikey chuckled, hanging up and turning back around.

When Mikey had finally made eye contact with the twins, he was surprised to see their shocked and seemingly  _disgusted_ faces. With a raised brow ridge, Mikey reeled back in response to having a salt shaker thrown at him.

"What was  _that_ for?!" Mikey shouted.

"You're a  _JAP!_ And you never told us!" Jack screamed.

"Yeah! We would have never talked to you if we knew you were a dive-bombing  _RAT!_ _"_   Damian agreed. "Talk about a shock to us! Why are you even here?! Shouldn't you be back in your homeland, eating rice and sushi or whatever?"

"And what makes you think that  _your kind_ could  _EVER_ be considered clean, after what you did?!" Jack scoffed.

"What?! Guys, just because I speak Japanese, doesn't mean that I'm like the ones who-"

"Were you raised by a Jap?" Damian asked.

"Well, I mean, my father  _speaks_ Japanese, but he's a literal  _rat!_ How am I supposed to know?! My brothers-"

"Oh, so there are more of you! Are you planning on attacking  _another_ harbor?" Jack asked.

By this point, Mikey was being backed out of the pizzeria, and no one was doing anything to stop this. Tears were streaming out of Mikey's eyes, and he was very close to pulling into his shell and never coming out.

"Guys, that  _isn't me!_ My family would  _never_ do something like that!" Mikey sobbed.

"Yeah right! We know about you people, and we're not risking anything!" Jack shouted, pushing Mikey onto the ground.

The trio had made their way outside, and were left, unattended. Jack and Damian then started to mercilessly beat Mikey, kicking him until he pulled into his shell.

"That's right! Hide! And, while you're in the mindset, you should start to make plans to go back to your rightful place! Ya Sunrise scumbag!" Jack spat, leading his brother back into the pizzeria.

Mikey sobbed silently, staying in his current position for around an hour, before pulling out of his shell, and scuttling home. When he'd made his way in, he immediately snuck into his room, and smashed a glass paintbrush holder, grabbing one of the shards, and dragging it across his neck, hoping that it would make him bleed out enough to... well...  _die_.

But, that would leave his brothers to wonder what they'd done. Which was nothing. So, Mikey had made his way into the living room, and had started what was happening now.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Raph, Donnie, and Leo stayed silent, still processing what they were being told. If this had really happened to their baby brother, then those two Yokai had  _hell_ to pay.

There was no doubt that Mikey wasn't making this up, anyways. The Box Turtle  _had_ left at the exact time in which he'd described, he  _had_ been gone for exact amount of time he'd stated, and he  _was_ covered in bruises and scratches from his supposed beating.

"Miguel... I am  _so sorry_ that you had to go through that. No one should ever have to experience what you did..." Leo whispered.

"Is what they said true?" Mikey asked. "Did the Japanese really destroy something?"

Donnie sighed, nodding.

"You know about The Day of Infamy." Donnie muttered. "That's the day that the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. A historic turning point, that led to many innocent Japanese families being assaulted for their heritage."

"That isn't fair, though! Those families never did anything!" Mikey cried.

"I am aware of that, Michael. But, some things are just turned into stereotypical misconceptions by humans. We just have to learn to live with it." Donnie replied, crossing his arms.

"NO! Just because, the humans look at it that way-"

"MICHAEL, SHUT UP!" Donnie screamed.

Michelangelo silenced, looking to the floor. Donatello groaned, thinking intensely for a minute or two, before kneeling in front of Mikey.

"Please. Just leave it be. We can't change these types of things. Don't make it worse. I know that it hurts your feelings, and it hurts us, too, but this can't keep you from going on without doubt." Donnie explained softly, placing a hand on Mikey's cheek.

"I just wish things  _weren't_ like that." Mikey huffed.

"I know you do, Michael. I do too." Donnie whispered. "Look, it's late, and your stomach has been rumbling for the past hour."

"No it hasn't." Mikey replied.

"Yes it has. I've been hearing nothing but ferocious growling coming from that stomach of yours!" Donnie shouted playfully, tickling Mikey, who squealed happily.

"He's right. Your stomach has been as bossy as ever." Leo confirmed, pulling Mikey into a hug, and kissing Mikey's cheek.

"Guuuuuyyyys! Stop it! You're embarrassing meeeee!" Mikey giggled.

"Who cares? You're too adorable not to embarrass!" Raph chuckled, patting Mikey's head.

"Nooooo! Lemme go! Help! I'm being kissed and tickled to death!" Mikey whined, cherishing the kiss he'd gotten from Donnie. A rare spectacle indeed.

"You gonna keep screaming?" Leo inquired.

"You gonna keep kissing me?" Mikey chuckled.

"Maybe." Donnie replied.

"Then maybe I will." Mikey chimed.

"Fair enough." Donnie and Leo chimed, kissing both of Mikey's cheeks.

"ARRRRGGGGGHHH! RAPHIE! STAHP THEM! MAKE 'EM STAAAAAHHHHP!" Mikey shouted, trying to escape Leo's grasp.

"I would, but they look so ferocious and tough! I could never take 'em down." Raph replied, smirking.

"Are you kidding?! You're twice either of their sizes! EEEEWWW! LEO JUST LICKED ME!" Mikey squealed.

Raphael cackled, watching as Leo finally let Mikey go, who wiped his face free of saliva.

"Did you really just do that? Now we're gonna have to kiss you all over again!" Donnie joked, snickering as Mikey hissed and ran off. "So... now that he's off to most likely preen himself... we  _are_ going to crush those sons-of-bitches into pulps... right?"

"It would be a betrayal to Mikey if we didn't." Raphael replied, gripping his weapons.

"I'm glad I'm not the only one to think so." Leo agreed darkly.

The trio then walked out of Donnie's lab, making sure to keep silent, so that Mikey didn't hear them.

"And we're not going to kill anyone this time!" Raph shouted, earning groans of disappointment.

**Author's Note:**

> Look at me, beating Mikey up and making him feel like an outcast. :D
> 
> Translations:
> 
> Watashi mo anata o aishitemasu. Sayōnara.: I love you too. Goodbye.


End file.
